NMUN Recap with Nick Parker

By Nicholas Parker

UNSW Head of Delegation, 2018 National Model United Nations Conference

In March 2018, 14 UNSW students travelled to the United States with UN Soc to participate in the annual National Model United Nations Conference in New York City. As Head of Delegation, I am pleased to report that #TeamUNSW to NMUN 2018 returns as the most successful Australian International MUN Delegation from this calendar year. NMUN is one of the largest and oldest regular MUN Conference in the world, having existed previously as a ‘Model League of Nations’ competition. It is partially sponsored by the US State Department and the United Nations.

UNSW took home a ‘Distinguished Delegation’ Award, which is awarded by the NMUN Secretariat to under 20% of all international delegations. In addition, four delegation members (29%) received individual team awards for their contribution to committee debate. Please find below a brief rundown of the highlights and personal achievements that members of the UNSW UN Soc team attained during their time in the US.

BEST DELEGATES – JESS WILLIAMS & AGGIE SHRESTHA

Jess and Aggie sat in the Commission on the Status of Women, tasked with debating how the international community can best engage in promoting the involvement of women and youth in government, combating violence against women migrant workers, and empowering women and girls in rural contexts. As a result of their key roles in multiple resolutions through the entire drafting process, Jess and Aggie were awarded the ‘Outstanding Delegation Award’ as adjudged by popular vote of their committee. This award was the direct result of months of effort and teamwork put forward by Jess and Aggie leading up to and during the Conference. Be sure to congratulate them when you next see them if you haven’t already!

BEST POSITION PAPER – TOBY MARLOW & NICK PARKER

Toby sat with me on the Security Council and debated the question of terrorism in the Horn of Africa. The ‘best position paper’ award was adjudged by the Chair/Directors of our committee and is based on pre-conference evidence of preparation and research in our policy position paper submitted prior to the conference. Particular congratulations ought to be given to Toby for his role researching and preparing the position paper despite having to balance Med Revue and other responsibilities for months – he’s truly incredible.

SPEAKING IN THE REAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY CHAMBER

Ganesh Chandra, sitting in the First Committee of the General Assembly, was selected to address the conference’s General Assembly Plenary Session in the actual General Assembly Chamber at UN HQ in New York. Definitely a tick off the bucket list, and a true representation of how influential Ganesh and Louis Ye were during committee (and yes, the resolution he spoke in support of was passed comfortably).

MEETING WITH THE AUSTRALIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS

Ambassador Gillian Bird met with the entire UNSW Delegation for a consultation as part of our time in New York City. Whilst there, we discussed a variety of topics, from Ambassador Bird’s own career, foreign influence on Australian foreign policy, the current work of the Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations, and of course, DFAT Applications. We are eternally grateful to the Ambassador for putting aside her busy schedule to meet with us in such an engaging manner – and yes, we got retweeted by UNSW on Ambassador Bird’s Twitter – thank you!

FINAL THANK-YOUs

Last but not least, hearty congratulations and thank you to the rest of the UNSW Delegation to NMUN 2018 for making us the undisputedly ascendant Australian international MUN Delegation this year [In alphabetical order]; Angela Stevens, Ellie Stamatelatos, Isaac Dela Torre, Izzie Healey, Nandini Kaushik and Lucy Qiu!

Finally, a special thank-you to the Leadership Team; Emma Cuelho (Dept. HoD), Isaac Gunay Ada, and Aggie Shrestha, for your tireless efforts the last few months – we couldn’t have done it without you!

If you have any questions about NMUN, please do not hesitate to come and have a chat to any of us!